Checks urged on Maori food sites

A public health official says more should be done to monitor and protect traditional Maori food-gathering grounds to reduce health risks.

Dr Cindy Kiro, an Auckland member of the Government's Public Health Advisory Committee, has called for a co-ordinated approach between regional councils, public health specialists and iwi.

She was speaking at a Public Health Association conference at Ngaruawahia on indigenous health issues.

Dr Kiro said damage to the environment could have a significant effect on Maori health.

A key problem was the lack of national guidelines or information on contamination of aquatic food-gathering areas.

Some local authorities carried out limited monitoring of shellfish and watercress sites, but there was no collection of data nationally.

"Hepatitis A outbreaks associated with contaminated shellfish are common.

"There is potential for diseases like cholera, which survives in seawater, to be brought into areas like Northland, where there is a high number of visitors."

Dr Kiro said poor water quality where watercress and flax were gathered, or where eeling was done, also created potential health risks.

She said some partnerships that had been set up to tackle issues related to food-gathering areas were proving successful.

One between the Environment Ministry, Ngai Tahu and Otago University was developing ways to measure the health of a waterway.

Dr Kiro was not aware of statistics for the number of people who used traditional food grounds around the country.

"But if you ask people, particularly in predominantly Maori rural communities, the majority would probably say they regularly collect food in this way."

Earlier, the conference heard that the profile of traditional food needed to be raised to encourage Maori to eat less fat and refined carbohydrates.

East Coast GP David Tipene-Leach said "harping on" to Maori about a low-fat diet was "a waste of time".

"One way to appeal to Maori minds is to talk about traditional kai and its values. A traditional diet can be re-created."

He said the growing and gathering of traditional food could be heavily promoted, with an emphasis on their easy availability to low-income families.

- NZPA